


passing down in pilgrims' palms

by sleepinnude



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, F/M, the death in the warnings is Steve's but this fic deals heavily with that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-02-19
Packaged: 2018-03-13 17:10:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3389660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepinnude/pseuds/sleepinnude
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You'd think it might be odd or hard to hear about Peggy's last boyfriend. You'd think it might be hard to hear that her girlfriends last love was The Star-Spangled Man With A Plan. Really, though, it just makes Angie love him as much as Peggy must have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	passing down in pilgrims' palms

It’s awhile after everything settles, after the daring first kiss and after Peggy has explained just exactly what the SSR was, that she first hears about Steve Rogers. Pegy’s explaining about the little vial of blood and how it’s a betrayal from Howard, exactly. And she can’t do that, not really, without explaining about Steve.

In truth, Angie is star-struck at first. Peggy had known Captain America! Had been part of the team that had produced him, managed him. Not just that, she and him had been a _thing_. Sweethearts and steadies and all that. He had taped her picture to the inside of his compass! Angie swoons like she used to at her sisters’ dime novels. Peggy laughs and tells her that it’s a good thing taking Hydra down never required talking to a girl – Steve was terrible at that.

When the awe dies down, when she gets over the fact that it was _Captain America_ , that’s when some insecurity seeps in. When she realizes it was _Captain America_ and that was her competition. She’s dating Peggy after a real-life living legend. A comic book hero. Her little brother had his trading cards. It only takes another few stories from Peggy for the worry to ebb away. Angie is not Captain America, definitely not, but if there’s one thing she learns, it’s that Peggy wasn’t in love with Captain America. She was in love with Steve Rogers. He just wore a spangly costume sometimes.

The stories come out slow. Like water trickling down stone, eventually cutting a path through it.

Sometimes they’re spurred by a memory, or a nightmare. Peggy wakes up with grenades ringing in her ears. As she and Angie sit pressed together in the shadow of the early hours, Peggy tells her about a skinny, sickly Steve Rogers trying to enlist six times. She talks about training camp and jumping on a dummy grenade until her voice steadies out. Until Angie’s hand stroking over her pulse lulls her back to sleep.

Sometimes it’s just a place. They’re walking through Brooklyn, having a hard time of not holding hands, and Peggy grins. She points at a shop window and says with a laugh that Steve had crashed through it chasing after an enemy agent. Angie gives a laugh of surprise and requests more. Through giggles, Peggy explains that it he had only been in his new body for minutes. Her eyes go a little shaded when she identifies the enemy agent as a member of Hydra. Angie takes her hand, public be damned, and sweeps her thumb over the knuckles.

Sometimes it’s nothing at all. Sometimes it’s just a quiet evening and Angie has her head in Peggy’s lap, Peggy’s fingers moving through her curls. And Angie hears about the way Steve had blushed, about his best friend since birth Bucky Barnes. After months, Angie hears, soft and sad, how Peggy she thinks the loss of Bucky is what really put Steve in that frozen ocean on some level. That Steve saw as a failure, a betrayal. Angie sits up and nuzzles under Peggy’s jaw.

Angie hears about the other Howling Commandoes. She especially likes the stories about Dum Dum Dugan for the way they make Peggy smile. After one of them, Peggy digs out a cloudy bottle of bourbon. She and Peggy get splendidly, wonderfully drunk on the burning stuff. Peggy tries to teach her one of the dirty bar songs that Dugan liked. Angie spells the alphabet between Peggy’s legs. She hears about Gabe and Monty and the jokes about hats, the endless bravery and dumb luck that got them through Hydra’s bases.

When Howard treats them to a fancy dinner with fondue Peggy sees the boiling pot and has to lean against the wall, she’s laughing so hard. In bits and pieces, between gasping laughs, she and Howard tell the story of Steve’s misunderstanding. Angie wishes she could have seen the look on Steve’s face when he asked about “…fondue?”

She finds those kinds of thoughts entering her mind more and more often. _I wish I knew if Steve liked fish. I wish I had been able to see Peggy make Steve blush. I wish they could have gotten that dance together. I wish I could have seen them get that dance. I wish I could have seen Bucky teasing Steve and Steve teasing back. I wish I could have known him before he was Captain America. I wish we were neighbors, just kids getting through the Depression together._

It’s late one night in summer, rain against the windowpanes and Peggy on the bed, looking out at the weather. Angie’s making them tea and she pauses her stirring. “I wish I could’ve met him,” she says. It’s apropos nothing except that she can tell Peggy is thinking about Steve.

Peggy looks over her shoulder and gives Angie a soft smile. “I wish you could have as well. You would’ve scared him something awful.”

“Hey now! I ain’t all that scary!” She brings their cups over to the bed and settles onto her folded legs. Passing Peggy her cup, she takes a sip herself and waits.

“No, you’re not. And once he got past the initial shock, he would have adored you. In fact, he would have fallen in love with you, I’ll bet.”

Angie shakes her head into her tea. “Don’t kid yourself, English. Sounds like he was too in love with you to go after anyone else.”

Peggy’s eyes go far-away for a moment but then she smiles. It’s almost as bright as the time she had laughingly recalled Gabe and Dernier teaching Jim Morita dirty words French, convincing him they were love poems. “No, that was the thing about Steve. He… He had so much love. He loved me with all his heart, he did. But he also loved Bucky as much. And the rest of the Commandoes, and even Howard.” Another long moment of Peggy lost in a memory before she looks over to Angie and sighs with a note of finality. Another smile. “I would have been quite lucky,” she begins, slow and exacting, “to have be able to know the both if you at the same time.”

Tea cup off to the side, Angie has to lean forward and kiss her at that. Kisses her slow and long with a hand fit through Peggy’s hair. “You think he woulda approved?” Angie asks softly, lips nearly grazing against Peggy’s still. “Of me dating you after him?”

Peggy smiles something quiet and just nods. “Oh, yes. How could he not have? You’re wonderful to me. And I do love you very much after all. That would have pleased him.”

With a quirked lip, Angie cants her eyes up to their ceiling. “Don’t worry, Cap’n. I’m takin’ good care of your girl for you.” When she kisses Peggy again, she can feel the warm wet of her tears.

_I wish I could have thanked him. I wish I could have told him how much I love you too._

**Author's Note:**

> blame [queenfonseca](http://queenfonseca.tumblr.com/post/111417720925/how-dare-you-suggest-that-fic-how-dare-you-im) for this.  
> you can follow me on [tumblah](http://www.angieemartinelli.tumblr.com) if you want.


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